


Wildflowers

by Gothams_Only_Wolf



Series: Lucky Coyote [2]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Military, Alternate Universe- Flower Buds, British Military, Chuck Hansen is a Cute, F/M, Flowers, Gen, Kid Fic, Language of Flowers, M/M, Multi, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-09
Updated: 2015-09-09
Packaged: 2018-04-19 20:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4759718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothams_Only_Wolf/pseuds/Gothams_Only_Wolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Imagine a soulmate AU where everyone has a flower bud protruding from anywhere on them. When they meet their soulmate, their bud blooms into the same flower as their soulmate’s.</p><p>Bonus points if the flower dies when their soulmate dies.</p><p>Even more bonus points if members of your OT3 have more than one flower bud.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wildflowers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PurrfectCatastrophe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurrfectCatastrophe/gifts), [kuro49](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuro49/gifts).



> Argh! Toxix, I swear you do that on purpose. Anywho, pretty flowers and pretty people for you all. 
> 
> **_IMPORTANT NOTICE: I am not an expert in British Military practices. I'm going off American ones and hoping that it's similar. Please correct me if you know someone in the RAAF._**
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

No one knows how the flowers came to be on humans. The flowers are mostly based on real ones, though they never tear or fall apart unless someone's soulmate dies. 

A lot of flowers wilted and died in the World Wars so people have been careful to monitor the news for countries embroiled in war and paid close attention to thier furled bud. 

Even with thier flower wilted, people tend to get married in the hopes that thier children's flowers will grow and bloom for a lifetime. 

Stacker Pentecost is a child of such a union and he's born with two right over his heart.

* * *

It's easier to hide buds that rest against your chest, really. They're practically flat, growing with Stacker as he enters primary and then secondary school. It's there that someone gets into a scuffle and rips his shirt on the correct shoulder. 

"Pentecost's got two." 

Stacker's hand leaves the kid's jacket and slams directly into the kid's face, teeth bared as he flips the collar of his school blazer over the buds very gently. 

"Can we see?" asks one of his mates. 

"No." Stacker mutters as he scuffs his shoes against the carpeting of the school nurse's office. His hand is bandaged and so are his buds, carefully concealed from the world. It's not like he's the first one to have more than one, by any means, just one of the very few born in this generation. 

"Son, did you punch him?" Stacker's Da is quiet but with quite the presence in the dean's office. 

"He ripped my shirt." He stated clearly, his hand automatically going up to cup the tiny buds. 

"I thought he didn't have any! Thought he was a—" No bloomer. Some people, less than .0005%, had no flower at all. 

"You do not make _assumptions_ on a person's bud, Mr. Lewis." The dean pinned the other boy with a merciless stare. "You are free to go, Mr. Pentecost."

* * *

Luna's is a violet. Stacker knows this because Luna likes girls and she keeps it hidden from Mum. The flower itself doesn't bloom until she's back from Basic, her arm tightly wrapped around a woman with bright red hair and green eyes that seem to laugh at everything. 

"Mum, this is Tamsin." Luna's wrist is now covered in sleek grass with a single violet blossom that looks delicate against all the green. Tamsin's matches (of course it does) and Mum gets this funny look on her face. 

"I see you found your flower." There are tears that don't fall but she glanced at Luna and Tamsin throughout the night, something almost wistful on her face as his sister and her soulmate giggle on the couch.

* * *

Stacker makes it through his GSCEs with a good grade. He's more hands-on at everything he does so he's going to follow in Luna's footsteps to pursue the RAAF. 

It doesn't hurt to expand where he can go either. All of his school mates have either bloomed in the city or out in the country. Stacker's tried just about everything he can possibly think of when it comes to meeting his flower so he's willing to go anywhere they send him.

* * *

Basic gets Stacker more goose-necked looks than in any other year of his life. The thin t-shirts don't really help and a lot of people's flowers bloom in that year with both parties usually soaked from sweat as they touch one another. The flowers rip through fabric when they bloom, as seen on several occasions throughout camp. 

It turns out that his are Amaryllis flowers, tiny as the buds are. They never bloom or even so much as twitch, despite all the looks (and covert touching) he gets. Stacker decided that, frankly, if they were going to touch him without his permission, they were going to hurt for it. 

He ended up with the highest grade for combatives for several consecutive years afterward. 

**_(People whisper about him even years later on that base.)_**

It could have been the scores, the entirely too-natural way he handled the weaponry given to him or it was just luck that an SAS recruiter happened to stop by while he was throwing people over his shoulder (the right, like hell he was letting them touch his left). 

Stacker doesn't find that bit of information out until much, much later.

He graduates with honors, top of his class as he climbs the ranks with a steady outlook. When he reaches Chief Technician he's considered a steady hand and a good leader. 

Stacker stretches out the kinks of the day, yawning into his hand when he gets the order to report to his superior's office. 

"Flight Sergeant?" Stacker stands at parade rest with a straight expression, even if he's confused. 

"At ease, Chief Technician." She waves her hand to tell him to sit down. "Relax, you're not in trouble." 

"Sarge?" Stacker sits and discreetly watches his Sergeant's morning glory sway in the breeze coming through her window. 

"You're to meet with Flight Sergeant Oleander at 0900 hours at your flight's hangar. Do not be late, Chief Tech Pentecost. This is a rare opportunity." Flt Sgt. Hill warns.

* * *

Stacker figures out quickly that he's been hand-picked to be a part of the SAS. They send him to so many places that his already thick file is full of redacted reports. Nowhere he's sent blooms either flower, not even in a place so hostile as to seem almost hospitable if it hadn't been for the fact that he was getting shot. 

At this point, he can rattle off countries that most civilians would shrink away from him at the names of and yet... His flower buds remain sealed shut, unyielding in the face of his deployments. So by the time he wearily hits Afghanistan he's given up on ever seeing the beautiful red flowers he's seen in books and only once in person. 

This is, of course, the deployment where one of them blooms.

* * *

It's the worst fire-fight he's ever been in; Stacker's seen enough that this is now the measure against all other fire-fights he'll be in should he survive this one. 

Right when Stacker is returning fire on the people shooting at him does someone in a tactical uniform much like his own slides behind the same car as him. He yelps as his flower bursts out of his body armor and through the cloth with a horrific **-SCHRIIIP!-** sound. 

"You?" The other NCO says hoarsely after his own flower does much the same (there's two and Stacker files that away for later). "How's yer ammo?" Austrailan. No _wonder_ Stacker could never find him. 

"I'm good," he pants, looking up to see wide green-tinted hazel flick back and forth between their flowers. "You?" 

" _ **British**_. No wonder..." 

"It never bloomed." Stacker finishes as he takes out two of the seven attackers. "Can we worry about that when and if we survive, please?" 

"Alright." The gaze tears away from his flower, brilliant red and such a big target where they are right now. Thankfully, shooting a flower is akin to treason in _any_ country so that is, at least, safe. 

They disable but don't kill the ones shooting at them. Stacker mentally apologizes to the ones he killed, probably snuffing out someone else's flower. It's a terrible thing to do but there's no going back. 

When they get back to the American Spec Op Humvee that was sent to pick them up, they lace fingers, glancing at one another out of the corner of their eyes. 

"Hey Coyote—Holy crap." 

"Romeo, if you want to keep your shoulder intact, I suggest you shut up." Stacker fires back before the American can say anything. 

"Blue's gonna be so _pissed_." Romeo says instead of what he obviously wants to say. Stacker still has a reputation for being merciless at Combatives on their days off. 

"He can shove a grenade up his **_arse_** for even thinking about betting on me." He snarks as they drive back to Camp Rhino. 

They go through debriefing (he finds out his soulmate is SASR) without ever releasing thier hold; both sets of superiors give them odd looks at the tight grip. Stacker's not letting go until he gets a name, a phone number and a kiss (in that order, preferably). 

They find a quiet, unused and vaguely dusty B-Hut. 

"I... I can't believe it." Stacker blurts the second they're alone. "You're really _here_." 

"You know, I never thought it would bloom in the worst fire-fight in my life." The man says and Stacker huffs in agreement. "I've already met your second, I think." 

"You have?" He feels like he's been flung into the deep end with his soulmate as the life-raft. 

"Well, she was my first flower an' she's back home in Oz." came the rejoinder. "Oh. 'M Herc, Herc Hansen." 

"Stacker Pentecost." Stacker says and they take a moment to just breathe in the other's presence. He leans against Herc, part of him afraid that his mate will disappear if he moves. Warm arms encircle him and Herc's burying his face in Stacker's recently bloomed flower. Stacker's entire body shudders with released tension. "You're here, you're in my arms and your face is in my flower. I thought..." 

"Shh. I know." Herc holds him as he sobs, shoulders heaving at the realization that he's found home in a bizarre twist of fate. When he's managed to get it down to hiccups and sniffles, Herc offers him a tissue. Stacker blows his nose and swipes at his tears. "No, no. It's okay." They sink to the floor, Stacker curling around Herc. "'M sorry we weren't there for you." 

"Not your fault I was halfway across the world." He protests wetly, nuzzling against the soft petals on Herc's chest. "It just took us a bit." 

"Yeah. I promise I won't leave for the rest of my deployment 'n yours." They couldn't be split up. It was battlefield protocol unless they'd already Bonded fully. Stacker assumed that Herc and probably Stacker's other soulmate had Bonded before Herc's deployment. "We, uh, we have a sprog." 

"How old?" 

"'Bout t' turn five when we get back. His name's Chuck." Herc fishes around in his cargo pockets and pulls out a printed piece of paper. "Supply let me print it out 'cause I asked nicely." Chuck's adorable and... The woman chasing him has one flower in bloom and the other is a tiny furl of a bud. 

"Who's that?" Stacker asks even though he instinctively knows. 

"Angela. We got married three months after our flowers bloomed. She wanted t' wait for you but the Bond was pretty strong." 

"How did it happen?" 

"Believe it or not, we met in Sydney..." He closed his eyes and listens as Herc describes meeting Angela in the middle of a downpour.

* * *

When he shows up for morning PT, Stacker's lips are kiss-bruised and he's so serene it scares his American counterparts. 

"What happened?" Yukon asks as she fiddles with the communication equipment after breakfast. 

"I found one of my flowers." He admits with a wide grin. "He's SASR." 

"Oh my goodness! Is that why you showed up looking sort-of punch drunk?" She pokes at his right shoulder, a grin on her face as well. 

"Mm-hmm. Good kisser." Stacker's face heats up at the memory of how good. 

"Have you..." 

"Bonded? No. The pull's not strong enough." He nibbles on his lip as he explains. "My other one is the catalyst." 

"Oh. Must be an intense Bond if your flower's here." Yukon murmurs as she gets back to tapping the equipment, by turns threatening it and cooing at it to make it work. 

"They Bonded a while back so he's stable. He'll have to stay with me until mine's done and then we're getting leave until I've Bonded properly. I'll probably end up getting reassigned." Stacker murmurs and Yukon only rolls her eyes. 

"They're just gonna reassign us too, you know. Like hell are they losing one of their best to the SASR; they'll find something to name you and keep you in our loop." She pins him with a stare that unnerves him a little. "He's good for you, your flower. This is the most I've seen you smile since that nasty strike in you-know-where." 

Stacker laughs at that, tilting his head back to see his amused soulmate leaning in the doorway. "Herc." 

"Stacks, got a VTC with Angie. Ye wanna come say hello?" Herc asks as he walks into the comm. room to tangle his fingers with Stacker's. 

"Sure." Stacker hums, the tension in his shoulders disappearing the second they touch. "Herc, I think maybe we should stick together." 

"I thought it was just me. It means the preliminary Bond has cemented." Herc replies genially as they wave goodbye to Yukon. 

"Ah. All this is new to me." Stacker sighs as they walk through Camp Rhino and get awkward stares from their fellow fighters, though it's more Herc than Stacker. More than one flower is rarer now than it was in the past, with fewer and fewer trios, tetrads and quintos. 

He hopes that it isn't in a severe rate of decline because that leaves them as... curiosities of a past time. Stacker's great-grandfather had been in a tetrad with a German, a Japanese-American and someone who had escaped Auschiwtz in the October Rebellion. They'd been odd but fairly common, some tetrads or trios losing one another in the Wars that followed. 

Stacker's Da had lost his lily in Vietnam, a VC who ended up dying right in front of him. Mum's had gone in a terrible house-fire, her rose still slightly charred on the edges. They'd married and vowed that their children would never feel what happened to them. 

He shakes his head to clear it of reminiscing. Angela is equally as beautiful on video as she is in the photo Herc carries with him. 

"Hi! You must be our other flower. Chuck, come here. Mummy's got someone to show you." Angela hoists up a small boy, wide blue eyes from neither of his parents. "Chuck, baby, this is Mummy an' Daddy's other flower." 

"Hi flower!" Chuck waves and his hand glitches for a moment while Angela laughs. "Coming home?" He directs this to Herc, the small bottom lip poking out into a pout. 

"Not yet, sprog." Herc shakes his head in the negative and Chuck's sweet face scrunches into an upset expression quicker than Stacker can blink. 

"Chuck?" Stacker asks and the little one turns his attention to Stacker abruptly. "Can you do me a favor?"

"I guess." The pout is still full-force but the expression softens. 

"Your Dad's staying so he can keep me safe," he says carefully, knowing Chuck is hanging onto his every word. "I really want to see you in person, okay? I need your Dad to do that. Can you wait?" 

"... Flowers are supposed to be together."

"Yes. And the second we come home, you'll have lots of flowers together. So, can you do that?" 

"Yeah!" Chuck smiles and it's enough to make Stacker crack one of his own. "Your smile's pretty." 

"Thank you." 

They talk a bit longer but it's almost Chuck's bed-time and Angela has some company work to do. 

"Bye Herc. It was nice meeting you Stacker." She blows both of them a kiss and Stacker stands for a moment after the VTC cuts out to place his hands over the remaining bud against his heart, right over left as he takes a deep breath. 

"Stacks?" Herc asks as he wraps his arms around Stacker's waist, thumbs stroking his hips softly. 

"How did I get two amazing flowers?" He whispers as he leans back for a moment, soaking in Herc's warmth. 

"Sure isn't luck, Stacks, if that's what yer thinkin'," his soulmate points out with a snort. "Just good ol' fashioned looking."

* * *

**-End of Stacker's Deployment-**

He's with Herc as they step onto the tarmac in Australia. 

Stacker has his right arm in a cast but he's in one piece, though Herc matches him with a wrist brace and a heavily bandaged leg. They got hit shortly before they were supposed to fly back, which made them all the more willing to go home. Angela's holding Chuck's hand along with an older man who looks like her father. She kneels, presses a quick kiss to Chuck's forehead and takes off straight for them. 

Stacker rocks back as she kisses Herc first and then him full on the mouth. His second flower blooms out of the same window of cloth that his other flower is sticking out of, with no ripping this time. He catches her with his non-dominant but still usable hand and kisses her until they pant softly while gazing into each other's eyes. 

"Hi." Stacker's only looking down by an few centimeters at most, grinning as he pecks her on the lips again. 

"Hey." They share a laugh at the simplistic greetings. Part of him wants to make her laugh just so he can relish in the sound. "So I see Herc's been kissing you senseless." 

"Mm-hmm." Stacker tucks Herc under his bad arm and kisses him too. "I'm hoping that's something you share?" 

"We do." She murmurs as she runs a finger down the edge of the new flower's petal. "Do you mind?" 

"No." Stacker divulges as he pulls them close, practically blissed out from all the affection he's getting. 

"Mum?" He snaps out of it to see Chuck reaching up with both arms. Stacker lifts Chuck and settles him on his right hip, right next to Angela. "Yer Mum's flower?" 

"I am." He agrees with a soft chuckle. "You must be Chuck." 

"Yup. 'M five n a quarter!" 

"Are you?" Stacker's utterly fascinated with this little one, listening carefully as he limps to the truck and settles in the back with Angela as Chuck chatters on about his day. 

"'N we made you a _biiiig_ banner!" Chuck gestures but makes sure to stay clear of the brilliant Amaryllis flowers that decorate Stacker's chest. "It says... I can't tell you." 

"A surprise, hmm?" He prompts with a nudge of his good shoulder to Chuck's. 

"Uh-huh." Chuck nods vigorously. "A sur-prise." 

"Of course. Anything else?" Stacker's still holding hands with Angela and doesn't see the fond expressions Herc and Angela are shooting him as they drive into the countryside. 

"I saw a lizard 'n a wombat." Chuck sees his confused expression and then laughs. "Like a little kang-a-roo." Chuck explains as they pull into a gravel driveway. "I gotta sound it out, like Mum says." 

"Ah. That makes sense." Stacker has an idea what a kangaroo looks like. 

"We're home!"

* * *

The banner's a little lop-sided but the spelling's decent for a five-year old 'helping' Angela. 

**_Welkome home, new flour!_**

He can't help the laugh or the smile that follows as Chuck looks from him to the banner and back. 

"You like it?" 

"It's pretty good." Stacker almost laughs again at Chuck's victory dance as his grandfather shoos him into the kitchen for a snack. 

"I have Chuck, Ang. You go say hello to your boys." The older man motions that they go upstairs. 

They make it to the landing and into the bedroom before Angela decides to welcome them home _her_ way.

* * *

**-Three Months Later-**

Stacker yawns as he shuffles down the stairs and scrubs at his eye crust with his right hand. The cast came off less than a week ago and he's glad he can move the way he used to move it. He pours some cereal for himself as he shuffles into the living room to watch Chuck watch cartoons. 

After he finishes his food, he contemplates getting back into bed with a still sleeping Herc and Angela. 

"Chuck, you good?" 

"Yeah." Chuck barely looks away from the giant robot cartoon to acknowledge him and Stacker sneaks back upstairs, cuddling Angela and Herc close as he settles back into bed. 

"Mmm, Stacks?" Angela reaches out and fists her hand into his shirt so she can pull him into their cuddle-pile. 

"Here." He almost purrs when she takes his hand and sets it on her slightly larger belly. "Hey, luv and baby." 

"Go back t' sleep." Herc mumbles into Angela's curls. "Schmoop later." 

"'Kay." Stacker curls his left arm around Angie's waist to keep his hand in contact with the new baby as his freshly healed arm wraps around Herc's hips. They're tangled together and happier than they've been in some time. 

He sings a soft lullaby that gets his lovers to fall back to sleep. 

_"Wildflower/You're a wildflower/Not for taming/Skies ignite when you're like your smile/Captivating..."_

**Author's Note:**

> Comment, complain, ect.
> 
> Luna/Tamsin: violet 
> 
> Stacker/Angela/Herc: Amaryllis Flower (red) 
> 
> Obadel Pentecost: tiger lily
> 
> Viviane Pentecost: Graham's rose


End file.
